Posts Tagged: women

The UK’s tabloids went into a major lather last year when comedienne, writer and actor Dawn French was snapped at the Galaxy Book Awards ceremony having obviously lost weight. “Dawn looks hot”, said one red top. “It’s a new dawn”, another in Punsville quipped. “Her ex-husband Lenny Henry must be kicking himself now”, said one television presenter – I cringed especially at that one. “Some people look drained when they lose a lot of weight, but she doesn’t does she?” beamed another.

Photo: Getty Images

Let’s get something straight here. Dawn French has always been generously proportioned and embraced her size; after all her autobiography is called Dear Fatty, so it’s not as if the woman suffered from self-denial when she was heavier. People – and the press – have always made a bigger deal (I do apologise – I seem to be going down the pun route myself here) of it than she has, despite her well-publicised adoration of chocolate and flying the flag in many ways for full figured women out there. She always said plus size women can be just as sexy as thinner ones. And she’s right.

Dawn, from what I can make out, hasn’t been on a diet as such, just started to eat more healthily and take exercise. Both are rational sensible things to do. She’s lost a few stone by this method and good on her, I say. I understand her weight loss being the focus of attention – she looks wonderful, but then she always did. What I can’t comprehend is why fingers are being pointed gleefully and nastily at her.

“No one can be that happy being so fat”, said one commentator. Another paper pointed out the ‘downside’ of losing weight – loose skin. When I read that, I imagined some paparazzo desperately shimmying up the drainpipe outside her bathroom trying to get a shot of her in the all together just to prove the point. Some have even offered the view that Dawn French has let curvier women down, that she has failed us in some way. No she hasn’t.

And neither have Nigella Lawson and Ruth Jones (who played Nessa in the sitcom Gavin & Stacey). Both have lost weight over the last year, the latter in particular will always be a full figured woman – and looks fabulous with it. The woman gets it in the neck when she’s bigger and when she’s slimmer as well. She can’t seem to win. It’s judgemental and makes all women feel bad about themselves.

Dawn French is still her beautiful curvaceous self. Hardly a size zero and even if she was she’d still be gorgeous. I’ve got news for people having a pop at her – women come in all shapes and sizes, it’s nothing new. Hardly a revelation, you’d think. Dawn looks healthy and happy, which is the best way to be.

About

Blogger: Cath Bore

I am a writer based in Liverpool - of script, screen and prose. The Full Story is about life as a full-figured woman. For curvy women getting a decent outfit proved difficult or expensive until recent times. Shops at last have got wise to the idea that curvy women love to wear nice clothes too and not live in shapeless baggy smocks! In The Full Story I blog about clothes, aim to big up and celebrate great role models for curvy women, cover lifestyle issues, food, health, sexism…and have some fun on the way.
Follow me on Twitter @cathbore and on my website cathbore.com